Dramaturgy
final Reflection
My original goals for this production (that I highlighted in my first reflection) were to learn how to lead a post-show discussion, improve my overall research and writing skills, and improve my presenting skills. Throughout this production, I met the goals I had set for myself. For the first few months of working on this production, I mainly researched and developed the website for the cast. I have done research before, but not to this scale. I learned a lot about finding credible sources, analyzing the play to find what to explore more, how to organize a website and more.
Additionally, I worked with Lucy Myerscough on the lobby display posters which helped me expand my skills of different types of writing for different settings. Even though this was not one of my goals, I learned a lot about collaboration, learning how to put together a lobby display, and figuring out what was important to share with the audience. Since most of my research and writing was geared toward helping the cast have supplemental materials to help them understand the play more, it was difficult at first to switch my writing style geared toward the audience. However, with some dedication and several drafts, I was able to figure out ways to paraphrase my existing writing and pull information that could be helpful for the audience.
Since I was not a performer or on the running crew, I only saw two runs of Fairview. This was the moment that I saw all of the hard work everyone poured into this production. Seeing this production of Fairview in its final form was interesting. Since I read the play several times, I enjoyed watching it in its full glory. Some moments hit me very differently from reading it and from seeing it in rehearsals. For instance, there were a lot of moments from the second act that felt very different to hear than reading it. I knew this before; however, watching the performances reminded me of just how complicated this play is and how it is different from the page to the stage. After watching the shows, I had the thought of wanting to put myself in other audience members' shoes who did not have such an intimate experience with it as I do.
Moreover, during the rehearsals, I developed the questions and tools for the post-show discussion. I met with Kelly Howe a few times for post-show discussion training. I learned a lot about how to craft questions, how to keep the conversation going, and how to confidently host. Moreover, I learned how to lead a post-show discussion for new material. Even though Fairview is not a new play, it was still good to know This part of the dramaturg position I have the least experience with. Even though I was nervous about hosting the discussion, I believe it went well and that we had an interesting conversation. I think my nerves may have held me back a bit so if I were to do this again, I would work on calming my nerves so they did not get in the way of leading the discussion. Overall, I think the discussion went very well and that I effectively learned how to facilitate post-show discussions.
In terms of Loyola’s mission, Fairview connected with many points of the mission. Fairview addresses how white surveillance negatively affects bodies of color in a difficult yet powerful way. Since Loyola is a predominantly white private university, minority voices have not had the presence that they should have for many decades. Fairview delivers a message that uplifts Black voices and sheds light on the harmful white gaze. The calling out of the injustices of our society (at a university and global level), the play shows the white audience members (in a theatrical sense) how the white gaze feels. Moreover, showing these harmful stereotypes that the white characters of Fairview do throughout the play further demonstrates how harmful it is.
Addressing my personal, civic, and professional development, I gathered tools for how to have conversations surrounding race. Especially during the first week of rehearsal, those early conversations about race with the cast were very eye-opening to me. Never have I been in conversations and workshops that were structured in this way to help everyone feel comfortable talking about race. I strive to be anti-racist and gather tools within a personal and professional context. Since being anti-racist is an ongoing thing, I gathered many tools to help me (and potentially others) to work on themselves to create better and safer spaces.
Lobby Display Materials and More
Hosted by Chicago plays, I represented Fairview at the Black History panel at the Understudy Coffee and Books on 2/8.
This video was included in the slideshow lobby display.
Reflection One
Before diving into my thoughts about the first week of rehearsals, I want to add that I have been working on Fairview for quite some time. Since September, I have been researching and building the website with all the materials for the performers. I think about being a dramaturg in two phases. The first phase is researching and preparing for the cast. The second phase is finalizing all the materials for the cast while also preparing materials for the audience. Since September, I have been eager for rehearsals to start and to see the world of the play come alive at Loyola.
For the first week of rehearsals, I attended all the rehearsals except for Saturday. Before coming back to campus after the break, I was a tad nervous about having to present to the cast. During the first rehearsal, I was asked to give an overview of the materials laid out on the website. Moreover, before coming to the first week of rehearsals, I was curious as to how the initial conversations were going to go for Fairview. From the messages and themes about surveillance of bodies of color, whiteness/white gaze, Blackness, and relationships between race and money – there are a lot of difficult (yet critical) conversations to be had before diving into staging.
Once I was in the rehearsal space, most of my fears or nerves went away. I felt like right off the bat there was a safe space that was created that tremendously helped me feel comfortable having hard conversations about the themes of the show. I enjoyed having the facilitated conversation with Justin Wright and the conversation about our first racial memory. I found them to be very enlightening and helpful conversations for the cast and me. Not only did it highlight areas of my research that I need to add on, but it has helped shape what I talk about in my dramaturgy note in the program as well as what questions to ask during the post-show discussion.
I learned useful language and ways to open safe conversations regarding race. As previously mentioned, when I am leading the post-show discussion, I want to be able to open a conversation that would let not only the cast feel comfortable being a part of it but the audience as well. For challenges, I am finalizing materials for the audience. For instance, the dramaturgy note in the program is a different kind of writing that I am not used to, so it does not come as easy for me to do.
One of my goals for this process is to learn and be comfortable in leading a post-show discussion. I have already started to meet with Kelly Howe learning the techniques of a good post-show discussion and working on the questions that I will be asking to the cast and director. Another one of my goals is to improve my overall writing and research skills. I set this goal back in September when I started my dramaturg role for this production. I believe that I have been improving my writing skills thus far and will continue to improve those skills. The last goal I have for this production’s dramaturg is to work on my presenting skills. Not only do I have to facilitate a post-show discussion, but I have served on a panel at the Understudy Coffee and Books to talk about the major themes of the play. This kind of presentation is different from the post-show discussion since I will be answering questions at the Understudy rather than asking questions to the cast and director. Overall, I hope to see an improvement or a development in my facilitating discussion, writing, and presenting skills.
Reflection Two
Throughout my involvement in Fairview, the nature of my work has been mainly research. Especially during the fall semester, I have poured many hours of research into creating a website that holds lots of information to aid the cast in immersing themselves in the world of Fairview. If I was not researching, I have been attending rehearsals to either observe to see if the show aligns with my research or be a part of conversations surrounding the show. Moreover, for Chicago Theatre Week, I was honored to be a part of a panel at the Understudy Coffee and Books in Andersonville to represent the show and hopefully, pull interest in more people coming to see the show. This panel has had a focus on Black History Month and how the shows the panelists were representing were uplifting Black voices in the Chicago area. I thought the panel went well and hopefully; some people attended the panel coming to the show.
One challenge that I faced was writing the dramaturg program note. For a while, I was stumped on what exactly to focus on in my note since I wanted the dramaturg note to aid the audience's understanding of the show. Since I was having a difficult time narrowing down what I wanted to focus on, I scheduled a meeting with Dr. Williams. During this meeting, it helped me narrow down what I wanted to focus on in my note and the format in which to write it (since I also had some formatting questions as well). For the note, I settled on the focus of a major theme in Fairview – surveillance of bodies of color – and talked about some of the ways this theme manifests in the show.
Another major challenge that I have been dealing with has been finalizing the physical lobby display. I wanted to include this challenge since it has been a focus for me for the last few weeks. However, looking at the question, I have not been getting help from the director since this challenge is coming from a logistical side rather than the content on them. I have mainly been in contact with April Browning, who has helped me navigate how to make the lobby display become a reality. For instance, a challenge Lucy and I have been figuring out how to hang our posters on the promenade without damaging the walls (which are very fragile). Since talking with April, we now have a game plan of taping the posters directly on the existing frames in the promenade using tape. This means that the posters will not be touching the wall and will be very easy to clean up after the run is over.
In terms of the goals I articulated in my first journal entry, I believe I am making good progress on them. For my first goal, I met with Kelly a couple of times about the post-show discussion I am leading on the 22nd of February. As of now, I have all the questions that I want to ask the cast, director, and audience prepared. For the 15-minute discussion, I have 6 questions prepared. However, I believe I will only get through 2 to 3 questions (two to the cast and director and one to the audience). Moreover, I have gained tools from Kelly that can help me in different situations. For instance, the main tool she has helped me with is what language I should use during the discussion. Making sure my language is precise helps clear up any confusion that could happen. Especially for a post-show discussion like the one I will be leading; it is crucial to be very precise with my wording so the questions I am asking are clear.
Moreover, throughout this project, I believe I have vastly improved my writing and my research skills. For my research skills, throughout the process of making the website, I have gained new tools and know different ways to gather information which will be helpful in the rest of my academic journey and beyond. Moreover, I believe the different kinds of writing I have been doing – for the website and the program – showcase effectively how I have been working and expanding on my skills.
Lastly, my last goal was my presenting skills in general – especially for the Understudy panel that I was a part of. I believe during the panel; I spoke very clearly with a lot of thought. There were moments when my words got a bit jumbled; however, I believe I effectively got my thoughts out and very successfully presented them at the panel.